Anonymous Feedback From Evanston City Council Revealed In LWVE Report

EVANSTON, IL — The League of Women Voters of Evanston last month finalized a report summarizing a series of interviews with the members of the City Council about their perceptions of their roles and the challenges they faced.

Anonymously summarizing its members' interviews with the Council, the League's report concludes that the alderpeople have had little opportunity to develop solid working relationships but appear to be increasingly prepared to meet future challenges.

The report notes six of the nine councilmembers are in their first term in office. Four were elected three years ago along with the city's first-term mayor and clerk, while two others were elected last year after having been appointed by the mayor to fill vacancies left by resignations.

"We wondered how well the large group of new members understood their role and how their newness might affect their relations with their colleagues," it said.

The League's interviewers asked each councilmember the same set of questions, and came away with additional information and reflections from their discussions with the understanding they would not be named individually, according to the report.

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"[Councilmembers] generally agreed that they were not very collaborative when first elected because most of them were new and did not know each other before joining Council. They were also unfamiliar with Council procedures. Big issues early on, such as the lifeguard scandal and the challenge of hiring a new city manager, required immediate action and did not provide them with an opportunity to become better acquainted and more collaborative before diving into these issues," it said. "Most believe they have since become more collaborative."

According to the 8-page report, only one councilmember "acknowledged dissension," on the council, telling interviewers that other councilmembers were aware of it and trying to improve things but asserting that the Illinois Open Meetings Act, or OMA, prevents them from socializing or talking among themselves as a council.

The act requires that discussion of public business among a majority of quorum of a public body, which is three or more members in Evanston's case, must take place at an open, public meeting. But, as the League's report points out, informal get-togethers among elected officials are not forbidden.

"We believe that the Illinois Open Meetings Act does not prohibit informal social gatherings of [councilmembers] as long as city business is not discussed," it said. "We encourage getting clarification of the OMA regulations. Getting together occasionally outside of formal meetings could be beneficial."

The report found the level of time commitment among members of the City Council ranged from 20 to 50 hours per week, with seven of the nine likening it to a full-time job.

But a consensus emerged from the interviews that councilmembers received useful, but insufficient, training after they were elected.

"There were meetings with department heads, which not all [councilmembers] attended, at which managers discussed the work of their department," it said. "[Councilmembers] were not adequately trained on the financial aspects of their position such as budgeting, pension funding, and issuing bonds."

The report suggests increased training for newly elected or appointed alderpeople, including media guidance, more meetings with staff, tours of facilities, discussions of municipal law.

It also suggests additional training to help city staff and elected officials better work together.

"We suggest that communications training covering a range of soft skills such as verbal and nonverbal communication, active listening, conflict resolution, public speaking, and more, could result in more effective communication and more collaborative relationships between CMs and staff," the report said. "An alternative approach would be having a professional team builder work with CMs and senior staff."

Several councilmembers told interviewers they were troubled by the level of incivility from the public during City Council meetings, while others suggested members of the public were rude or brought "attitude" to their remarks at public comment.

"One stated that some residents have a mindset that the local government neither respects nor hears them. Another dates the problem to the 2016 election and the frustration that has since been mounting across the country. This councilmember said that it is easy to take this frustration out on local officials," the report said.

"Another suggested that many people who speak at public comment are not adequately informed but also said it is the city’s responsibility to get the public more engaged," it said, "as was done with Participatory Budgeting."

Read more: Full City Council interview summaries from the Evanston LWV